"For me, there can be no better time to close the international chapter," he said.

Klose's tally of 71 Germany goals puts him three ahead of Gerd Muller as the country's highest-ever scorer.

But he stressed: "Team success stood, and stands, above everything for me. I have reached a huge goal [the World Cup] -- a goal that we shared as a team. But I have also reached goals I set myself personally. Whoever knows me knows that I am very ambitious. I am an attacker, and an attacker's job is to score goals."

He thanked the players and coaches he had worked with, saying current boss Joachim Low "always gave me complete confidence" and adding: "That our cooperation ended with winning the [World Cup] title is great."

Low returned the compliment, saying Klose -- whose first Germany cap came as a substitute against Albania in 2001 -- was "someone you can always rely on, an international star and one of the greatest strikers."

"When I joined the DFB as the assistant coach in 2004, Klose was already there," he said. "I am happy and grateful that I was able to work with Miroslav Klose."

DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach said Klose was "not only an outstanding player but also an absolute role model."

Team manager Oliver Bierhoff added: "It's a strange thought that Miro won't be with the Nationalmannchaft in the future.

"He was a teammate of mine in 2002, and from 2004 I have witnessed him from the perspective of an official. All I can say is: 'Thanks for everything, Miro.'"